This weekend I went back to 5 Pointz to see if I can get lucky again and find some thing interesting to shoot. Given the bad weather, I didn’t expect to get many good shots out. I was wrong. After shooting some candid photos, I ran into 3 guys that had just gotten permission from Meres to paint. Their names were Paulo aka Polo, Matthew aka Nemo, and Wes. Polo and Nemo are both from France. Wes lives in NY, but doesn’t tag. The two frenchmen are only here for two weeks and have done some work in 5 Pointz before.
I figured this would be the perfect time to take Professor Bernstein’s advice and “capture not just their art but them in the process of making art.” The whole process took about two and a half hours, but it turned out well in my opinion. While they were painting, we were talking and joking around too. Wes was making fun of Polo’s accent after he pronounced the word “engine”, “engyne”. Wes told him, “You sound like you’re saying, ‘Keep the vagina running!!'” Polo laughed and started to explain the difference between Americans and the French, but no one could understand him, not even Nemo.
It was really dark by the time they were done and it was only half past five. While Nemo and Wes went to throw away the used up supplies, I talked with Polo some more. He and Nemo have been friends in France since high school and Nemo started painting before him. Aside from spray-painting, he and Nemo also paint on canvas and do music. Polo also went on to tell me that he loves to paint so much that he finds it hard to put a price on is work, but will have to eventually to make ends meet. Before he left, he encouraged me to go back to tagging. I told him I might but I’m not good enough to be on 5 Pointz. He said “Just try and see what happens.” My one regret that day was that I was too busy talking and laughing with them that I didn’t get a lot of front shots of them. Maybe next time.
These are some great images. Can you get any with the artist in action? It would be nice to see a before and after, like a blank wall and then the artwork once it’s done.
These are truly incredible shots! You capture the vividness of the colors and aliveness of the pieces well. I love that you went ahead and did the before, after, and in progress images. As you mentioned in your notes, shots of the artists themselves would be great. Maybe you can get a close-up of their faces, capture their expressions and emotions if any as they paint?
You did some excellent work. It is striking the way the artists are black figures against the electric backgrounds. The contrast works beautifully. You’ve also created a strong context for the art. How interesting to learn that some of the graffiti artists come from as far away as France. It’s really an international community. I would like to know something about the iconography of what they do. How do they come up with the subject matter? Do they look at the work of any mainstream artists? Do they have any formal artistic training? Who are they and what do they do when they’re not doing graffiti?
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